SC asks medical team to decide if 14-year old rape survivor can undergo abortion: All you need to know

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the setting up of a team comprising three gynaecologists and a clinical psychologist to examine whether a 24-week pregnant 14-year-old rape survivor can undergo risk-free abortion. [caption id=“attachment_2352776” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “] Supreme Court. Image courtesy- Reuters[/caption] Earlier, a gynecologist who examined the victim had said that the haemoglobin level of the girl was below optimum and this condition can be harmful to her during childbirth. The court said the team of doctors will decide if there was serious threat to her life if the baby is not aborted. It said that if the abortion is necessary to save the victim’s life, there would be no need for any further permission of the apex court. Here are some important facts related to the case: 1) The girl was allegedly raped by a doctor to whom she had gone in February this year for treatment of typhoid. The doctor is said to have committed the act after injecting her with sedatives. The Times of India reported that she is a class X student from Ahmedabad. 2) The girl did not reveal the incident to her family initially. She told them about it only after she missed her periods. Later, she went to a doctor who said that she was pregnant. 3) While the girl is 24 months pregnant, the law does not allow termination of pregnancy after 20 weeks unless there is a danger to the mother’s life. 4) For this reason, the Gujarat High Court had denied permission to her to abort the foetus. Challenging this order, the girl’s father approached the Supreme Court, which is now considering the matter. 5) While the Supreme Court has expressed sympathy for the girl, it has left it to the team of doctors to decide whether the girl can undergo the abortion. According to the Indian Express , the court said, “We have the interest of the girl in our mind. But we also know there is a life inside her.” 6) The court has also included a clinical psychologist in the panel to assess her mental health. 7) Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, a pregnant woman can abort the foetus of less than twenty weeks, if two or more registered practitioners opine that continuing the pregnancy could lead to “grave risk to the life of the pregnant woman or of grave injury to physical or mental health”. An explanation to this provision specifically states if the pregnancy was caused by an act of rape, the mental trauma caused by the incident is presumed to constitute a “grave injury to mental health”. However, this provision, also, is limited to pregnancy until twenty weeks. 8) Last year, DNA reported that the ministry of health and family welfare has proposed to amend the law to allow for abortion up to the 24th week. However, it is not clear whether the law, if passed, will apply retrospectively. With inputs from IANS